Mike Weatherley
Main Page: Mike Weatherley (Conservative - Hove)Department Debates - View all Mike Weatherley's debates with the Department for Education
(12 years ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mr Gibb
I understand my hon. Friend’s concerns about funding in North Yorkshire, which is ranked 114th out of 151 authorities, with its schools receiving £4,786 per pupil compared with the national average of £5,082. The current system is unfair. It is opaque, which is why the Government’s announcement at the end of March begins the process of moving towards a fairer system with reforms to the local formula. We intend, ultimately, to move to a national funding formula, but of course in the current economic climate, stability has to be a priority.
Mike Weatherley (Hove) (Con)
16. How many people aged 16 to 18 started an apprenticeship in (a) Hove constituency, (b) the south-west and (c) England in 2011.
The Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning (Mr John Hayes)
For the academic year 2010-11, final data for young people aged under 19 show that there were 110 apprenticeship starts in Hove constituency, which is an increase of 8% on the 2009-10 figure; 15,720 apprenticeship starts in the south-east region, which is also an increase of 8% on the 2009-10 figure; and 131,700 apprenticeship starts in England, which is an increase of more than 32% over the past two years.
Mike Weatherley
I congratulate my hon. Friend on the outstanding progress he has made in promoting apprenticeships. The previous Government provided for so-called apprenticeships without even a requirement for apprentices to have a job. Will he reassure me that under this Government the requirement to be in proper work will remain the core of our apprenticeship offering?
Mr Hayes
One of the first things I did when I became a Minister was to insist that apprentices should be employed, in order to end programme-led apprenticeships. They were the hallmark of the previous Government’s approach, as was recently highlighted in the programme referred to a few moments ago.
The letter that I am holding was sent to me, and it says:
“We warmly welcome the Government’s focus on Apprenticeships and its efforts to guarantee”
apprenticeship “quality”. It is signed by some of Britain’s leading companies and by the TUC. So business, unions and the Government are coming together—only the Labour party is standing apart.